Join HCAN in calling for an end to the Republicans’ witch hunt against Planned Parenthood.
Women won a great victory in the GOP’s war on women’s health. After the Susan G. Komen Foundation said it would stop funding low-cost medical services provided by Planned Parenthood, millions of people spoke up to register their opposition. Following days of relentless criticism, the Komen Foundation apologized and reversed itself.
The reason Komen used for its initial decision was that Planned Parenthood was under a government investigation. But what is this “government investigation” of Planned Parenthood? It is nothing more than a witch hunt by anti-Planned Parenthood ideologue, Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL). He has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood – a move that would deny 3 million people access to basic health services including cancer screenings.
When Komen adopted this new rule, it was clear that Planned Parenthood would be the only organization affected. Without warning, Komen abandoned its nonpartisan stance and became a symbol of the Republicans’ overreach.
Right-wing ideologues like Rep. Stearns and his war on women must be stopped.
Will you join us by signing our petition calling on Rep. Stearns to call off his witch hunt?
It’s a crime to deny our care.
Thanks,
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Thousands of people are being forced out of their homes to make way for commercial agriculture. They receive little or no compensation for the loss of their land and homes, and are forced into villages without the basic facilities for new people. Stand up against this injustice! »
Because of the timing of the relocations, at the beginning of the harvest, and because no food or health resources have been made available for these people, malnutrition, illness and starvation are becoming endemic. Human Rights Watch reports that any resistance is met with threats of violence. The thousands already moved are just the beginning; the Ethiopian government plans to relocate 1.5 million people by next year. This violation of human rights cannot continue.
Please sign the petition to stop Ethiopia from continuing to force its people off their land! »
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Planned Parenthood’s Effort To Fight All Types Of Cancer Still Under Attack Following the controversy surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure‘s initial announcement that it would end its relationship with Planned Parenthood, right-wing media have tried to downplay Planned Parenthood’s efforts to fight cancer, claiming that Planned Parenthood doesn’t provide mammograms and does “nothing to prevent breast cancer.” But this ignores the numerous cancer-related services Planned Parenthood annually provides to women — including more than 1.5 million cancer screenings and preventative services in 2010 — such as breast exams, mammogram referrals, and screenings for other types of cancer; moreover, contrary to right-wing claims, some Planned Parenthood clinics do indeed provide mammograms. Read More
Right-Wing Media Rely On Discredited Evidence To Dismiss Positive Jobs Report Right-wing media are rushing to put a negative spin on newly released jobs numbers showing a drop in the unemployment rate and a net increase in jobs by parroting the discredited claim that government data show that “1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force” last month. In fact, as economic experts have explained, that number reflected an increase in population from 2010 Census figures and is not the result of how many people “dropped out” of the labor force last month. Read More
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| For people living on the brink, food aid is a lifesaver – literally. But if some members of Congress get their way, programs that give food to people in desperate poverty worldwide will face drastic cuts up to $500 million. We can’t let Congress make cuts that could force millions of families to go hungry. » These days it’s more important than ever to keep support strong for hungry people around the world. Between the crisis in the Horn of Africa leaving millions on the brink of starvation and economic hardship leaving families hungry in every corner of the globe, the cuts to funding Congress is considering will mean people die of starvation. As Congress continues to push to cut the tiny part of our budget that goes to help stop starvation among the world’s poorest, we need to take action now to save millions of lives. Add your voice to the movement today: tell Congress not to cut food assistance for impoverished families around the globe. »
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There are signs that tea party calls to repeal the 17th Amendment — taking the selection of U.S. Senators out of the hands of voters and putting it in the hands of state governments — are proving to be a bridge too far for Republican candidates desperate to steal some of the movement’s mojo. In the past couple weeks, at least two mainstream Republican candidates have found themselves walking back from pledges to support repealing the amendment, suggesting there’s a limit to how much support the tea parties can provide.
The “Repeal The 17th” movement is a vocal part of the overall tea party structure. Supporters of the plan say that ending the public vote for Senators would give the states more power to protect their own interests in Washington (and of course, give all of us “more liberty” in the process.) As their process of “vetting” candidates, some tea party groups have required candidates to weigh in on the idea of repeal in questionnaires. And that’s where the trouble starts.
In Ohio, Steve Stivers — the Republican attempting to unseat Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy in the state’s 15th District — came under fire from Democrats when it was revealed he had checked the box saying he would repeal the 17th Amendment on a tea party survey (see question 11 here).
Kilroy’s campaign set up a website slamming Stivers for the stance, and attacked him in the press.
Stivers flip-flopped almost immediately, telling the Columbus Dispatch that despite the survey (and a January quote in The Hill), he didn’t know what he was saying when he called for an end to Senators elected directly by the people they represent.
“I made a mistake,” Stivers told the paper. “I answered that question wrong. It was not intentional.”
In Idaho, Republican Vaughn Ward is in a similar pickle. Ward, the NRCC’s choice to challenge Rep. Walt Minnick (D), is currently locked in a primary fight with state Rep. Raul Labrador. As happens so often in Republican primaries these days, the candidates are doing their best to appeal to the ultra-conservative vote. (And considering that Minnick is the lone Democrat to be called a Hero by the Tea Party Express, we’re talking extra tasty crispy conservative here.)
On April 30, Ward told a TV audience in Boise that he, like Labrador, favored repealing the 17th Amendment. But after the issue drew some heat in the press, Ward thought better of the idea and changed his tune.
“I do not want to take away the power of people to elect senators,” Ward told the Spokesman-Review newspaper. “What I do support is amending the Constitution and adding a two-term limit for U.S. senators.”
Ward said “I’m not changing position, I’m clarifying,” but reporters in Idaho called it like it was. One columnist put it this way: “Um, no.”
Tea Party Boise President Brendan Smythe told me Ward’s new take on the 17th Amendment is a “massive flip-flop.” He said that Ward’s change of heart “means a lot to us” and could have an effect on Ward’s chances in Idaho’s May 25 primary.
“It sounds to me like he’s answering to the GOP machine,” Smythe said. He said that most establishment Republicans in Idaho don’t support repealing the amendment and he speculated that they may have influenced Ward’s decision to change his mind on the issue.
“He probably got some advice from the incumbents,” Smythe told me. “[Ward's reversal] is typical party before country behavior. That’s all it is.”
There are, of course, plenty of conservative Republicans who favor repealing the 17th Amendment. Tim Bridgewater, the man who got the most votes at the Utah GOP convention that ousted Sen. Bob Bennett, says on his website that he’d support rewriting the constitution to put the power of choosing Senators in the hands of the states. And Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has actually put forward legislation that would repeal the amendment.
For their part, some long-time proponents of repealing the amendment say that they wish it wasn’t associated with today’s far-right. John Trouslow, who heads up the non-partisan Campaign To Restore Federalism
said that the fact that the tea party has taken up the cause could do more harm than good. He said that repealing the 17th Amendment has long been a cause of those who want the federal government’s power over the states to be limited — which often means supporters of the ideology currently not in power in Washington. In the case of the tea party though, Trouslow said what he called the group’s inevitable decline could take repeal of the 17th Amendment with it.
“I wish it was more than the tea partiers who were talking about it,” he told me today. “I’m worried that the idea will get so tied to the tea partiers that as the tea party gets discredited the idea will get discredited too.”
Some Republican candidates seem to feel the same way about their own credibility. Their brief flirtation with the repealing the 17th Amendment — which appears to have been born out of trying to curry favor with the the tea parties — ended after it threatened to make them look too extreme.
Late Update: Shortly after this post was published yesterday, Tea Party Boise endorsed Raul Labrador in the Idaho Congressional race. According to KTVB-TV, the tea party group chose Labrador because, among other things, he’s “more thoughtful and knowledgeable” than Vaughn Ward.
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Bowling for Equality in SeattleSunday, March 11 Two Hour Bowling Shifts: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.| 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. | 8:00 – 10:00 p.m.The Garage 1134 Broadway Seattle, WA 98122 |
Tickets:Happy Hour Pricing on Food and Drinks until 7:00 p.m! $40 before March 4 or $50 after. This event is 21+
Help the Human Rights Campaign raise vital funds for our work supporting marriage equality in The Evergreen State! Your ticket purchase includes an annual HRC membership and helps us continue our work to raise awareness and support for the marriage equality movement in Washington.
Come bowling with friends and other Seattle Human Rights Campaign supporters at The Garage on Capitol Hill. Included with your ticket is an annual membership to HRC, light appetizers, bowling shoes, and 2 hours of bowling. Prizes will be awarded all day long!
It’s Black History Month
picture by MoveOn.Org
“We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives,”- Susan G. Komen for the cure
just another rant …
On 1/30/2010, the New S.G. Komen for the cure organization put out a press release stating that they would be halting grants to Planned Parenthood. I read about it on twitter talked to a couple of tweeties and decided to research exactly who supports, pays, and otherwise is all in for the organization. The interesting thing about the new Susan G. Komen for the cure site is that they do not give adequate information about who is actually running the organization, who handles their media or marketing or that Karen Handel held public office while in GA or that she is a staunch conservative. In addition, upon further research at various sites like wiki, I found that Nancy Brinker, a conservative and sister of Susan Komen worked under the Bush Administration, confirmed the Komen association with Ari Fleisher who was involved in filling the position of Karen Handel. Apparently, the move to halt some funding was in the works for about a year yet it looks like some in upper management decided to stay quiet.
I ask everyone who supports the new Susan G. Komen to question and challenge the organizations new policies and motive in deciding to use Rep.Cliff Stearns investigation to quantify the actions or pressures coming from conservative pro-life groups. I know many of us feel that Woman’s Health Care should not be a political football and that Komen should have remained neutral; provide women’s health care, trust the great people in charge at Planned Parenthood and remember the Hyde amendment but do not throw women under the healthcare bus or over the resource cliff.
This move will undermine the way women and men are able to access safe and affordable health care where there are so few facilities to begin with not to mention the number of health care workers who will be unemployed because the new Komen chose the ideology of so few over the lives of the many. The fact is that the number of early detection and services needed afterwards is beyond the number of women who actually get abortions. It is also important to know that funding for stem cell research is also under fire if not already eliminated.
I was sad and offended to learn how the new Susan Komen organization caved to the pressures of Republican representatives in Congress like Cliff Stearns or conservative groups and their ideology. It appears as if that family values platform is gaining more control over a woman’s right to choose and is indeed a political move that will backfire…
This controversy is not over …it is just the beginning folks
in other News …
Former Obama Advisor Discusses Israel and the Middle East
Jay Carney Holds White House Briefing live at 12:30pm ET
Newsmakers With Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Campaign Committee Chairman
Please join U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
and special guests:
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen
to honor Washington women making a difference in our community at the
2012 Women of Valor Awards
Wednesday, February 22
12:00-1:30
The Sheraton Seattle
1400 6th Ave.
Seattle, WA
Individual tickets are available at the following levels:
$1,000 Gold Seating Level
$250 Silver Seating Level
$150 General Seating
Click here to RSVP http://action.cantwell.com/page/m/7fcfc442/671abd81/7293067a/13f9a6dc/1367322313/VEsH/
If you have any questions, please contact Joanna at Joanna@Cantwell.com or (206) 285-2012.
Thank you so much for your continuing support!
Maria
